Living in Colombia

Colombia presents a fairly even picture, with middling pay, light tax, and costs that sit near the middle as well, which together leave a modest rather than generous cushion at the end of the month. Because none of those pieces pull hard in any direction, what tends to decide the matter is the work. Getting hired without local roots is hard, and English opens doors only in particular corners of the economy, so real command of Spanish is what turns a foothold into a career here.

Colombia is at once a major source and, increasingly, a major host. About 3.7M Colombians live abroad — a diaspora up 34% over the past decade — spread across the United States, Venezuela, and Spain. The reverse flow is now striking too: of the 3 million foreign-born residents at home, 2.9M are Venezuelans, the overwhelming bulk of recent arrivals. On balance, the country still sends out more people than it takes in.